Hammerson and Westfield call truce in battle for Croydon

AUSTRALIAN mall owner Westfield Group has made peace with Anglo-French developer Hammerson in a long-running battle over an ageing Croydon shopping centre, agreeing to redevelop it together.

The two have been wrangling for over a year about the Whitgift Centre in Croydon whose owners sided with both developers on the right to redevelop the site, resulting in deadlock.

The pair said yesterday that the joint venture will purchase a 25 per cent interest in the 42-year-old site.

Hammerson had previously agreed to buy the stake from one of the centre’s leaseholders, Royal London Asset Management, on its own for £65m.

Westfield will also buy a 50 per cent stake in the Centrale shopping centre, a mall opposite the Whitgift Centre which Hammerson already owns.

“Croydon has huge potential to return to its former glory as one of London’s most vibrant town centres, and a major driver of its economy. The redevelopment of the Whitgift Centre at its heart is crucial to this vision,” London’s Mayor Boris Johnson said.